The present invention relates to a shoulder rest for violins, violas or the like instruments.
Shoulder rests for violins or the like instruments are used to provide comfortable holding of the instrument by a player. Typically, a shoulder rest is secured to a violin to provide a rest surface which engages the player's shoulder while the instrument itself is supported at a selected level depending on the anatomy of the player and in particular on the length of the player's neck.
While many shoulder rests have been proposed and are on the market, the type with a firm base shaped to conform to the player's shoulder is preferred by a substantial percentage of the market. The firm base is usually provided with an underpadding which rests against the user's shoulder when the instrument is being played. Secured to the base at its both ends are upwardly projecting holding members or supports which support pivotable U-shaped ends adapted to engage the side wall of the body of a respective violin near the bottom of the body. My U.S. Pat. No. 3,631,754 or my published international patent application WO 91/05329, both of which are incorporated herein by reference, describe the type of firm base shoulder rests which have enjoyed considerable success in the market.
The term "firm" base of the shoulder rest and the end members designates a structure which, while generally firm, still has a degree of inherent resiliency. The resiliency is utilized in providing a clamping force by which the fork members engage the instrument. This is contrary to a soft, cushion-like base such as described, for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,582, where a padding is provided with elastic members at each end of the base, which stretch out to engage the sides of the violin body. These shoulder rests or pads are not too popular. They do not allow adjustability in height and their hold to the instrument is not as firm as in the slightly flexing "firm" base such as described in my patent and patent application mentioned above.
Violin or viola players usually carry the shoulder rests, detached from the violin, in the violin case together with the instrument. The known fully adjustable shoulder rest with a firm base often presents a problem in that it is too large for convenient storage inside the violin case.